Semi-Auto Wrapping Speeds Production, Cuts Costs

A brief encounter at the PPMA show between Aetna UK and furniture manufacturer, Alston's Furniture, has led to the installation of four Robopac 506 PFS machines.

A brief encounter at the PPMA show between Aetna UK and furniture manufacturer, Alston's Furniture, has led to the installation of four Robopac 506 PFS machines.

Alston's Furniture's Ipswich (UK) factory saw the Robopac 506 PFS's installed over a 12-month period.

Previously, items were wrapped by hand using a spinning turntable where the operator had to stand by the item to supervise operations.

That meant that he was unable to prepare the next item for wrapping, which limited productivity.

Alston's transport manager, Trevor Daldry explained the initial problem: "We were looking at ways to increase productivity and we approached Aetna to explore the viability of a fully automatic system.

After careful appraisal this option was considered both impractical and too expensive to implement.

He added: "However, Aetna was confident that it could provide the solution and the company's Mark Sharp contacted us with a proposal for a simplified scheme, which would still achieve our objectives, but at a more realistic cost.

In the first instance, Aetna installed a trial Robopac 506PFS semi-automatic machine with optional puriball feature.

That adds protective film wrap to various items of furniture, using stretch film only, or a combination of bubble-wrap and stretch film.

Products travel to the wrapping station from the production area via three motorised conveyors, feeding product at an average of 30 items per hour.

The items are then loaded by hand from the conveyor on to a turntable and the wrap cycle begins.

The end result is a securely wrapped product that is fully protected in storage or transit.

Added Daldry: "The operation was so successful that we added a further three Robopac 506's to the line within 12 months of the initial trial.

Payback on investment was achieved in less than our 18 month target period and we have made significant savings in the cost of packaging materials, including a 50 per cent reduction in film usage, without compromising product protection.

Aetna's managing director, Mark Tucker, commented: "We pride ourselves at being proactive.

This is a perfect example of how we work together with our customers to achieve their objectives by providing the solution they need at a price with which they are happy.

Alston's said that the Robopac 506 machines have been readily adopted by the line operators who have appreciated the genuinely operator friendly interface, the robust construction of the machines and the after sales service provided by Aetna's team.

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